Love him or hate him, you can’t help but respect Bill Corgan's body of work with Smashing Pumpkins. That includes what he did with the original lineup of the band and what he’s done since with the rotating door of members that followed Corgan using the moniker again to release music. Maybe Zeitgeist and everything that’s been released since can’t be held up with what the band did when they were in their heyday, but it’s always been interesting.

As for the latest Pumpkins album, Monuments to an Elegy, Corgan has put together a bright album that’s both guitar driven and varied. The songs are mostly energetic and catchy – something totally different from the band’s most recent work. Corgan's lyrics don’t necessarily ring true with people like they did in the past, but there’s little to no doubt that this album sounds amazing. The musicianship and the songs aren't what they were in the 90’s but sonically this record sounds unlike any Pumpkin effort and at the very least that’s why it needs to be listened to. While Corgan has gotten in his own way on more than one occasion throughout the past decade, he’s also never lost his artistic drive. At the very least, you have to give him that.

Love him or hate him, you can’t help but respect Bill Corgan's body of work with Smashing Pumpkins. That includes what he did with the original lineup of the band and what he’s done since with the rotating door of members that followed Corgan using the moniker again to release music. Maybe Zeitgeist and everything that’s been released since can’t be held up with what the band did when they were in their heyday, but it’s always been interesting.

As for the latest Pumpkins album, Monuments to an Elegy, Corgan has put together a bright album that’s both guitar driven and varied. The songs are mostly energetic and catchy – something totally different from the band’s most recent work. Corgan's lyrics don’t necessarily ring true with people like they did in the past, but there’s little to no doubt that this album sounds amazing. The musicianship and the songs aren't what they were in the 90’s but sonically this record sounds unlike any Pumpkin effort and at the very least that’s why it needs to be listened to. While Corgan has gotten in his own way on more than one occasion throughout the past decade, he’s also never lost his artistic drive. At the very least, you have to give him that.